11/06/04	On Saturday, November 6, 2004, we set up a new osprey platform on the edge of the Squamscott River on Town of Exeter conservation land.  This site was identified as a good potential location during a Project Osprey management team site visit in July 2003. Assembling and setting up the quadripod design platform was made possible by a tremendous outpouring of volunteer help from the Exeter Conservation Commission, the SCA/Americorps NH Parks work crew from Bear Brook State Park, and several other volunteers and staff members from NH Audubon and NH Fish & Game.  The new teepee-like platform stands 17 ft tall and is located on the west side of the Squamscott River about 1.1 mi north of the junction of Rte 101 and Rte 85.  This is the first time Project Osprey has used the quadripod design in New Hampshire.  We felt it was most appropriate for this site on a tidal salt marsh because it did not require excavation and could be assembled by hand without heavy equipment.  Thanks to Tim Warr and 3 other volunteers from the Exeter Conservation Commission, "Dub" McCullough and 6 other Americorps enrollees, Michael Marchand and Sarah Koval from NH Fish & Game Department, Phil Brown from NH Audubon, and to Great Bay Project Osprey Steward volunteers Dick Hughes and Ty Wivell, as well as two other volunteers, for turning out on a sunny Saturday afternoon to get the job done!   -- Chris Martin
10/27/04	Forestry Technology students and faculty from the Thompson School at the University of New Hampshire climbed the heights of a white pine to install a pre-made nest platform atop a topped white pine.  The 60 foot high platform is at Branch Hill Tree Farm on the west shore of Northeast Pond along the Salmon Falls River in Milton Mills, NH.
08/06	Check out the new osprey observation platform on NHF&G property on the east side of Route 108 in Stratham.  The entrance is the first driveway (no house) just south of Chapman's Landing.  Park in the cleared area on the left of the driveway & walk the short distance to the platform.  The sturdy platform overlooks the saltmarsh on the south side of the Squamscott River.  It is handicapped accessible by means of a gradual ramp & comes equipped with 2 built in benches & a telescope.  The scope is low enough for use by wheelchair observers & smaller children.  It can be aimed at the osprey nest on the power lines that cross the river or it can be rotated to view the river traffic, the railroad trestle & shorebirds, herons & other saltmarsh inhabitants.
07/29/04	"PROJECT OSPREY" PARTNERSHIP CELEBRATES SUCCESSES CONCORD, N.H. -- Staff and volunteers of "Project Osprey," a unique public/private partnership aimed at restoring to New Hampshire a once-endangered species, gathered yesterday to mark the successful culmination of their five-year effort. During Project Osprey, the partners -- the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department; New Hampshire Audubon; and Public Service of New Hampshire -- worked together to foster the growth of the population of this majestic raptor, also known as the Fish Hawk. Nesting sites were identified, platform nests were designed, poles with platforms were raised, predator guards were installed, and volunteers monitored and reported on osprey activity. Today, New Hampshire has a record number of ospreys and active osprey nests.  Project Osprey has sited 15 nesting structures around the Granite State.  Additionally, ospreys have been observed nesting on platforms constructed and erected years earlier. There were 30 active osprey nests in New Hampshire in 2003 and 54 young fledged, more than 10 times the number in 1980. "The success of Project Osprey is proof that with time, funding and dedicated people, we can bring back wildlife species from the brink," said John Kanter, coordinator of the Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program for N.H. Fish and Game. "I hope that learning about and celebrating osprey restoration will inspire an increased commitment from people -- and from potential future wildlife partners -- to work toward conserving all New Hampshire wildlife." "We wouldn't have been able to achieve this success had this not been a partnership," said David Houghton, President of New Hampshire Audubon. "I hope this serves as a model for future projects as we try to deal with other threats to our wildlife such as the unprecedented growth New Hampshire is now facing." "PSNH is extremely proud to be Project Osprey's corporate partner," said John D. MacDonald, PSNH Vice President - Operations. "We take our responsibility to the environment seriously. Through this experience, and many others across the state, we've learned the value of sharing our resources and working with others to achieve mutual goals efficiently and effectively." New Hampshire's osprey population was virtually wiped out in the 1960s as a result of contamination linked to DDT, a toxic pesticide. Over time, the partners began to work informally on a number of projects and ospreys slowly repopulated the state. In 2000, the three organizations formalized their partnership into Project Osprey, a five-year effort designed to remove osprey from the state's threatened species list. Besides the successful location of platform nests, project highlights include: the development of trained volunteer stewards, who monitored and reported on nesting activity; the construction of observation platforms near some nesting sites, to provide the public with an up-close view of ospreys; and the creation of a middle school curriculum that helps children learn about osprey and broader ecological concepts. Final project work includes the completion of a formal recovery plan which will direct future efforts toward 'delisting' osprey from the state's list of endangered and threatened wildlife.
10/16/03 Chris Martin	On Thursday, October 16, 2003, PROJECT OSPREY established another new osprey nesting platform, this time along the Cocheco River on the Strafford County Farm property in Dover in southeastern New Hampshire. This specific effort was spearheaded by Don Black, UNH Extension Forest Educator for Strafford County, who made most of the local logistical arrangements required, after consulting with Chris Martin of the Audubon Society of NH back in July to determine whether the location was appropriate for the creation of a nest site.  On the morning of 10/16, a crew of arboriculture students from UNH, supervised by UNH instructor and NH Dept of Resources and Economic Development forester A.J. Dupere, topped and prepared a live 20.5-in dbh white pine tree, then raised and installed a wooden platform at the top, some 64 feet in the air above the Cocheco River, and less than a mile from the fish-rich Bellamy Reservoir.  The tree crew did a fantastic job! This is the 10th nest site in NH created by people specifically for ospreys since the PROJECT OSPREY partnership began in April 2000.  Previously during the past 3.5 years, telephone pole platforms have been installed in the following locations: in Westmoreland on the Cheshire County Farm and on the Adams Family Farm, in Lyme at the Wilder Wildlife Management Area, in Haverhill at the Grafton County Farm (2 platforms), and in Stratford at the Ft. Hill Wildlife Management Area.  Additionally, we have constructed two replica nests of sticks (w/o a wooden platform) at Cherry Pond in Jefferson and on Hunts Island in Seabrook.  And we have replaced a previously existing platform on a powerline in Belmont when the transmission lines were being upgraded.  Of those nine, we have so far documented subsequent occupancy by ospreys at three of the sites.  Several other platforms, built prior to the creation of the former PROJECT OSPREY partnership have also seen use by osprey nesting pairs. The Strafford County Farm platform, installed in the top of a live tree, is somewhat unique in that it is the first of that type built in NH since Howie Nowell and Flip Nevers of NH Fish & Game installed two platforms atop pines on the Androscoggin River near Umbagog Lake back in 1978 ... 25 years ago! Among those on hand in Dover at a brief noontime event that recognized those involved in the project were all three Strafford County Commissioners, and representatives from PSNH, NH Audubon, NH DRED, and UNH.  Local media was on hand to cover the event.  The adult osprey and the immature bald eagle that flew overhead during the morning just added to what was a beautiful day!